Careers Advice
by HowObjectionable
Summary: In which thirteen year old Apollo Justice visits a careers advisor. There's not really much else I can say without giving it all away, but hey :3


**Okay, first off, I know I promised some more lovely Miego, but thanks to _someone, _that isn't going to happen for another couple of weeks. Thanks to the same _someone, _I was obligated to write something about Apollo.**

**I love Polly, though, so it doesn't matter :3**

Anyway, there are a couple of parts that are mildly inconsistent with the game, but only if you squint. Plus, it was really fun to write. Enjoy!

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**Careers Advice**

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"Okay, who's next?" the careers advisor called out from behind the door.

Apollo watched as one of his classmates came out of the classroom, looking very confused. Sam was the fourth one that day to look like that after leaving the classroom which had been commandeered for the day by Mr Crow in order to tell the seventh graders that everything they had planned about their futures was wrong.

Apollo wasn't worried, however. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. Apollo was going to be a spy.

His foster mother had dismissed his dreams as simple childhood delusions, but Apollo knew differently. Quite apart from the fact he wasn't a child, he had this all planned out. He even had his spy name at the ready – one of his fellow foster kids, a Japanese boy named Kyouya, had given it to him. 'Odeko'. He wasn't sure what it meant, but it sounded awesome.

Apollo stood up and walked into the room. The advisor stared at him unblinkingly, smiling. He was a thin man, with black hair and black clothes, making him look extremely like the bird which was his namesake.

"Apollo, was it?" he asked, a small smile playing on the corner of his mouth.

Apollo nodded, taking a seat. "That's right. But really, it doesn't matter. I don't really need to be here."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Er…Mr Crow." Apollo amended sheepishly.

"Call me Jim." He replied, smiling. "Okay, Apollo, I've been looking at your reports here, and your teachers seem to think you're relatively well behaved, if a little outspoken…and loud."

"I'm not loud!" Apollo protested, but Jim ploughed on regardless.

"I have to say, Apollo, your music teacher in particular seems to think you're quite good. Although she does mention here that your voice would be a lot better if you quietened down a bit. Have you ever considered a musical career?"

"No thanks. I don't want to end up as some sort of fop."

"Alright, then." Jim replied, chuckling. "What about lending your voice to television or radio? You'd be good at voice-overs for movie trailers and whatnot."

Apollo stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Perhaps, or perhaps not."

"I'm…really not interested." Apollo insisted.

"Alright then." Jim said, face completely expressionless. "Well, what about a chef? Your cookery teacher says you're good at it, although you might need a bigger hat…"

"Excuse me?"

"Of course, with a forehead that shiny, you could be a mirror."

"Hey!" Apollo got to his feet, annoyed. "I don't need to listen to this!"

Jim Crow burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, Apollo, really. Sit down and we can talk properly."

Apollo grudgingly sat back down, arms folded. "Are you going to keep making stupid suggestions?" he demanded.

"Well, I was going to suggest that you model overlarge hats, but that wouldn't be nice when you're so upset. Now, listen to me. With a name like 'Apollo Justice' you only have two choices. Work in law or become a superhero. Or you could become a professional magician. Your little brothers and sisters would like that."

Apollo glared at him. This was too much. He'd never actually punched anyone in the jaw before, but he wondered what would happen if he did so now. No, he had to keep calm.  
"I don't have any brothers or sisters, least of all any who'd be interested in _magic." _he said_, _a little indignantly."And… I do want to work in law." He admitted. "Sort of."

Jim leaned forward in his chair. "You do? What are you interested in?"

"I want to be a spy!" Apollo said, suddenly brightening considerably. "I could join up with the FBI or the CIA and…"

"Stop right there." Jim said. "A spy, Apollo? Really?"

Apollo stared at him. "Yeah, why not? I already have my own spy name and everything, and…"

"Look, kid, spies don't actually work like they do in movies. Besides, I hardly think you're suitable for the job."

"What do you mean?" Apollo demanded, put out.

"First of all, with a voice like yours, you'd hardly be able to keep incognito. Second, that hairstyle of yours sticks out a mile…"

"It's only gelled." Apollo muttered mulishly.

"And third, you seem to have an affinity for the colour red. Nothing against the colour, son, but you'll stick out like a sore thumb."

Apollo just glared at him, feeling mutinous. "And? What's it to you?"

"I'm a careers advisor." Jim replied, the small smirk once again playing around his mouth. "It's my job. Now, why don't you tell me _why _you want to be a spy, eh? Let me guess. You want to bring criminals to justice, am I right?"

"Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"No, I was being completely serious. And I'm waiting on an answer."

Apollo paused, considering. He'd never actually thought about it before. "Well…" he said slowly. "Yes and no."

"Go on."

"I do want lawbreakers to get theirs, but that's not why…I mean, I want to help people."

"Help people?" Jim prompted.

"Yeah." Apollo replied, looking down at his shoes as he spoke. "People who can't watch out for themselves, you know? I…I've been in and out of foster homes as long as I can remember and…well, I know what it feels like." He glanced up, expecting to see the man laughing. Instead, he saw a pair of piercing dark eyes staring at him with a thoughtful expression.

"Apollo. Give it up." Jim finally said. "You'll never be a spy, and to be honest I don't think you want to be."

"I _do…_!" Apollo started indignantly.

"But that doesn't mean you can't help people." The advisor continued. "Have you ever considered becoming an attorney?"

"An…attorney?"

"With a voice like yours, you'd be great in a courtroom. You could be a prosecutor, but given what you've told me about yourself I'd say you're far more suited for defence. What do you say?"

Apollo sat silently for a moment, thinking. No, he'd never considered it before. But now that it had been mentioned…

"Tell you what. You've heard about the Steel Samurai, haven't you?"

"I love the Steel Samurai!" Apollo replied, at the same time wondering what it had to do with anything.

"Not the show. I mean the case."

"Oh, right. Will Powers has been accused of killing the Evil Magistrate – I mean, Jack Hammer - right? But he couldn't have done it! Not the Steel Samurai!" Apollo was well aware that he was confusing reality with fantasy, but as a thirteen year old boy he honestly couldn't care less.

"How about you go along to the courthouse tomorrow and see for yourself?" Jim suggested. "He's got some rookie defending him, but they say he's pretty good."

"A rookie?"

"Yes, he's only won two cases so far."

"_Two_?!" Apollo demanded. "You mean he's lost all the rest? Mr Powers doesn't stand a chance!"

Jim laughed. "No, no. He's only had two cases. So I suppose you could say he's never lost a case in his whole time as a lawyer. He's even beaten Miles Edgeworth, and he's the first one to ever do so. Have you heard of Miles Edgeworth?"

"Who _hasn't _heard of Edgeworth?" Apollo asked incredulously. "And this guy beat him? Are you _sure _he's just a rookie?"

Jim laughed again. "Yes, I am. Technically, he beat him twice – once in defending the girl he was hired to defend, and then again when he was accused himself. His first case was against Prosecutor Payne, and he beat him in a matter of an hour or so."

"B…but isn't Payne known as the Rookie Killer?!"

"That's a matter of opinion." Jim muttered. Then, louder, "Yes, yes he is."

Apollo sat there, absorbing all this information into his (rather large) head. Then- "Hey, Mr Crow?"

"Jim."

"Jim. Can I ask you a favour?"

"Go ahead."

"Can you give me a note to tell my teachers I'm not coming into school tomorrow?"

"Whyever not?" Jim asked, with a grin plastered across his face.

"Because I have to go to the courthouse. I want to see if this guy's all he's cracked up to be."  


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By the time Apollo was fifteen, he was already apprenticed to one of the best defence attorneys in the area – despite the fact he hadn't actually sat the exam yet. 'Apprenticed' really was a loose term. Really, all he did was the grunt work – paperwork, making coffee, etc, but it was all good training; at least, according to Mr Gavin it was.

It wasn't until later that he realised that he had, in fact, done the one thing he promised himself he wouldn't and listened to the careers advisor back in seventh grade, something which made him feel rather stupid.

He still went to see most of that one lawyers trials. At the end of the last one he'd seen, he could scarcely believe it. It was beyond the realms of imagination and yet…

Apollo knew, despite his pride, that he'd made the right choice.

Two months later, Phoenix Wright was disbarred and Apollo was crushed. He'd always hoped that one day he'd maybe even get to work with him and now…  


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Seven years later, a man called in to the Gavin and Co Law Offices, looking for defence, something which happened every day. Well, he'd come to the right place, Apollo supposed. He assumed the man would be defended by Mr Gavin himself – after all, from the little he'd heard by "not" listening in to the phone conversation, the two were friends.

Which is why he was surprised when Mr Gavin approached his desk just as he was re-polishing his shiny new attorney's badge for the sixth time that day and told him to come down to the Detention Centre with him.

On the way, Apollo was informed that the client had specifically requested him over Mr Gavin, something Apollo couldn't quite believe. After all, who'd want some rookie fresh off the bar defending them?

The two entered the Detention Centre and sat in the visitors room, waiting. The man came out and sat down, smiling at them. He looked like a hobo. He wore a blue woolly hat and a hoodie and looked like he hadn't shaved in quite a while.

"Ah, Kristoph." He said, sounding bored. "I assume this is the boy you were telling me about?"

Mr Gavin nodded, and Apollo tried to ignore the fact he was being spoken about as if he wasn't there. And he wasn't a 'boy', either.

"Er, hi!" he greeted. "I…err…my name is…um…"

"Apollo Justice." Mr Gavin prompted; smiling in a way that Apollo couldn't be sure was entirely sincere. "Since this will be your first trial, I'll be accompanying you in court, alright?" The last part was supposedly directed at Apollo, but he couldn't help but notice Mr Gavin's eyes didn't leave the client's face once as he spoke – almost as if he was warning him of something.

"Er…yeah." Apollo replied, confused.

"Come now, Kristoph. Aren't you going to let him talk to his client?" the man asked, sounding extremely at ease for one behind a thick wall of glass.

"Of course." Mr Gavin replied. "Go ahead, Justice."

It made Apollo uncomfortable the way the men were staring holes into each other. "Er, I'm Apollo Justice and…um…I'm kind of new at this, actually." He admitted.

The man looked away from Mr Gavin, smiling at Apollo. "Ah, okay. I'm Phoenix Wright. I know how you feel."

At which point Apollo almost suffered from heart failure.

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**In case you were wondering, 'Odeko' meand 'Forehead' in Japanese, and Kyouya is actually Klavier's Japanese name. But you knew that already didn't you?**

Reviewers win e-cookies :3


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